


Gryffindor Bonding Tales

by adenei



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26198038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adenei/pseuds/adenei
Summary: Percy Weasley comes up with a 'genius' idea to help the new Gryffindors get to know each other. What starts as an awkward meeting turns into a yearly occurrence, transition from ice breakers to typical teenage party games at the start of each year.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 44





	1. Year 1

**Author's Note:**

> I plan on doing a "Welcome Back" bonding story for our Gryffindor friends for Years 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6\. We're skipping 5 because of the Harry/Seamus fall out, and obviously year 7 is out for obvious reasons.

“First years, this way!” Harry could hear Percy Weasley, the Gryffindor prefect call as everyone was disbanding from the welcome feast. He, Ron and the rest of the first year Gryffindors followed obediently up all the moving staircases. Harry was frantically trying to remember which way they were going and everything Percy was telling them. It was no use because he was thoroughly lost without a guide by the time they got to the staircase.

“Alright, alright, first years listen up, please!” Percy addressed them all again once they all stopped. “Behind this portrait is Gryffindor Tower. You’ll need the password to enter, and our first password is Caput Draconis.” The Fat Lady swung the portrait hole open to let them enter. All of the first years were taking in the sight of the large common room as Percy continued talking. 

“The boy’s dormitory is up the staircase to the left, and the girl’s dormitory is up the staircase across the room over there. You’ll be off to bed now, but tomorrow after dinner we’re going to meet once more for a ‘getting to know you’ activity. We’ll meet down here tomorrow at seven. Now, off to bed!” Percy said a little too harshly.

“All that power’s going to his head,” Harry heard Ron mutter as they climbed the staircase and entered the first year dorm.

“What activity do you think he’s going to make us do? We used to have to do these things called ‘ice breakers’ in primary school. They were awful.” Harry said.

“Not sure,” responded Ron. “None of my brothers have ever mentioned having to do something like that. Must be one of Percy’s ideas to make sure he stands out as prefect.” Ron rolled his eyes.

“Guess we’ll find out in the morning then,” Harry said as he lay down on his bed.

The following evening, Harry and Ron gathered in the common room with the rest of the first years as Percy entered the room swiftly and joined them. “Good evening! I’ve blocked off this spot over here for the evening,” Percy said as Harry and Ron gave each other a look. He may have been new here, but Harry was pretty sure you didn’t reserve space in the common room. 

“Let’s all sit in a circle now,” Percy continued as they all sat down. “In order for you all to get to know each other a bit quicker, we’re going to go around the circle and answer the questions that I ask.” All the first years stared at him as if they were being subjected to torture.

“Er, Perce,” Ron interrupted, “Can’t we just do that on our own? Pretty sure we’re all capable of making friends.”

“Yes, Ron, I’m sure you are, but this way no one will be left out if we all do this together,” Percy huffed at Ron’s questioning of the idea. Harry noticed the bushy haired girl, Hermione was it?, sitting triumphantly with a satisfied smile on her face. Was this her doing? If she was muggleborn too, then she’d have to know how ridiculous these sorts of games were. Not that Harry had any friends in primary school because of Dudley, but that’s not how people made friends anyways. It was awkward for everyone.

“Shall we get started, then? Great.” Percy didn’t wait for anyone’s response. “The first question is, ‘What is your favorite chocolate frog card and why?’” he said as he referenced his parchment. “Ron, why don’t you start.”

“Er, alright,” Ron said with another eye roll. “Montague Knightley, since he’s a wizard chess champion.” Ron noticed the obnoxious bushy-haired girl’s hand shoot up in the air as it had done countless times throughout their classes today.

“Yes, Hermione? Would you like to go next?” Percy asked her.

“No. Actually, I was going to suggest that we should probably state our names at least before we answer the first question just in case we don’t remember who each other is.”

“Sure, it’s not like we heard roll calls five times today to learn them,” Ron muttered to Harry who chuckled at that. Harry could easily tell the names of all his Gryffindor classmates, so he wasn’t sure why she was being so persistent about this.

“Now, now, I suppose she has a point. Ron will you re-do yours, but with an introduction?” Percy asked.

“You can’t be serious!” Ron said, but Percy’s look proved him wrong. “Fine. My name’s Ron and my favorite chocolate frog card is of Montague Knightley because he’s a wizard chess champion, and I enjoy playing wizard’s chess. Happy?”

“Yes, thank you. Now we’ll just go around the circle. Harry, why don’t you go next.” Percy said.

“Er, I’m Harry, and I only just got my first chocolate frog card yesterday. It was Professor Dumbledore’s, so I guess that’s my favorite?” Harry wasn’t quite sure how this question was fair to those who were new to the magical world, but he didn’t want to question Percy. 

“Very good, very good. Next?” Percy said.

“I’m Neville, and I don’t really collect chocolate frog cards. If I had to choose one I liked, it’d be Beaumont Marjoribanks since he was an Herbologist, and I quite like the subject.”

“I’m Seamus, and my favorite’s Archibald Alderton. He’s famous for blowing his hamlet, and a lot of my underage magic had to do with accidentally doing the same,” Seamus sniggered.

“I’m Dean, and I don’t know much about chocolate frog cards, but I collect Football trading cards. West Ham’s my favorite team, and I have an Ian Bishop card!” Dean said excitedly.

“Er, right then, thanks” Percy said, not really understanding anything that came out of Dean’s mouth.

“I’m Lavender and I like Cassandra Vablatsky’s card best. I just think the idea being a Seer is so fascinating!”

“No way! She’s my favorite, too! I can’t wait to take Divination when we’re third years. I’m Parvati, by the way.” The two girls started giggling and talking quietly about their shared interest.

The bushy haired girl gave them a look. “Well, I’m Hermione, and I’ve never seen a chocolate frog card, so I have no idea what anyone’s talking about. If you told me these were magic specific questions, I would have researched it first so I had an answer.” 

Harry thought he sensed a bit of hurt underneath her haughtiness, but she was just so rude that he didn’t care at that point. Even he and Dean were able to make some sort of connection and give an answer, after all.

Percy ignored Hermione’s response and pushed on to his next question. “What do you think your favorite class will be? Same order to keep things simple.”  
“I would say Defense seems pretty cool, but Quirrell’s rather odd, so I’m not sure what my favorite would be yet.” Ron answered.

“Same,” agreed Harry.

“Herbology,” said Neville unsurprisingly.

“Potions,” said Seamus.

“Transfiguration,” answered Dean.

“Charms,” both Parvati and Lavender said at the same time, followed by a bunch of giggling.

“Charms as well,” said Hermione stuffily.

“Excellent! One more question, and then I’ll let you off for tonight since I’m sure you’ve already had assignments set, and I have prefect duty anyways. This next question doesn’t have anything to do with school or magic, but it does require partners,” Percy said as he scooched back out of the circle. “Since I’m not a part of it, Ron you can be with Hermione, Harry with Neville, Seamus with Dean, and Parvati with Lavender.”

“WHAT?! Percy that’s not fair and you know it. You just don’t want Harry to be my partner since we’re already friends. That’s bollocks!” If Hermione was hurt by his words, she didn’t show it.

“Stop being dramatic, Ronald,” Percy scolded him. “The question is: What is something you have in common with the person next to you? Two minutes to discuss, then we’ll share.”

If looks could kill, Ron’s scowl would have done Percy in right then and there. He begrudgingly turned to the bushy-haired know-it-all who was waiting expectantly. In order to get this done quickly, and not draw things out, Ron said, “We’re both in Gryffindor. Easy.”

“That’s too easy. There must be something else we have in common. It wouldn’t kill you to talk to me, you know,” Hermione said with a scathing look.

She is so annoying, Ron thought. Why would Percy pair me with her. Why couldn’t he have just given us the person we were sitting across from. Even Parvati or Lavender with their incessant giggling would be better than Hermione ‘I think I’m better than everyone’ Granger.

She broke his thoughts by asking, “Well, my favorite color’s blue, what’s yours?”

“Orange,” he said.

“Hmm, we don’t share any similarities with family either, since I’m an only child and you have several siblings. Do you live in a city or countryside?”

“Countryside.”

“Hmm, opposites again. Favorite ice cream flavor?” 

“Chocolate,” Ron said simply.

“Mint for me,” Hermione said sullenly. 

Before she could ask any other questions, Percy interrupted. “Alright, let’s see what you all came up with. Neville and Harry, why don’t you go first.”

“We both have July birthdays,” Neville said happily.

Percy nodded approvingly. “Seamus and Dean?”

“We’re both fans of sports, whether it’s football or quidditch! There’s lots of similarities between them,” Dean said eagerly as Seamus nodded.

“Well, Parvati and I haven’t found a thing we don’t have in common yet, starting with our interests in divination, and our favorite color is pink!” Lavender said next.

“Excellent! Ron or Hermione?” Percy asked.

Hermione chewed on her lip and didn’t speak, so Ron said dully, “We’re both in Gryffindor.”

Percy looked a bit surprised, “Surely you could have come up with something?”

“We tried, and didn’t come up with anything in two minutes. Can we move on now?” Ron avoided Hermione as he tried to get Percy to move past them.

“Fine, I need to get going anyway. I’m sure you’ll all become rather close during your time at Hogwarts. Might I suggest getting a headstart on your homework now so it doesn’t pile up on you,” Percy called one last piece of advice as he took off out the portrait hole.

Hermione gathered her things quickly and took off up the girl’s staircase. Ron turned to Harry, “Percy can really be the worst sometimes. Care for a game of wizard’s chess?” Harry nodded as both boys quickly forgot about the awkward meeting they’d just been through.


	2. Year 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lavender and Parvati want to keep the theme going after the Welcome Feast, but the questions go a little deeper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I was going to strictly make this friendship, but the opportunity leant itself to hint at some early Romione, so I've updated it to include the tiny realizations to their eventual relationship because let's be honest, the world always needs more Romione.

Hermione was sitting nervously in the Great Hall during the welcome feast. She couldn’t find Ron or Harry on the Hogwarts Express, and they still hadn’t turned up for the feast. Something had to be wrong.

“So what do you think, Hermione?” she heard Lavender ask her distantly.

“I’m sorry, Lavender, what was the question?” Hermione said distractedly.

“Parvati and I were talking on the train and thought it would be fun to do something similar to what Percy made us do last year. We came up with three questions and everything!” Lavender repeated. 

“Oh, erm, sure, I guess. When?” Hermione responded.

“After the welcome feast! Nobody’s tired yet anyways.” Lavender said excitedly.

“Everyone agreed to it?” Hermione asked.

“Yes!” said Parvati. “Well, everyone but Harry and Ron. Where are they?”

“That is a very good question,” Hermione said as she continued picking at her food.

* * *

“We’ll meet everyone back down here in fifteen minutes. Sound good?” Lavender asked as they entered the common room. There was a chorus of agreements as most everyone went up their separate staircases to get settled, and to make Percy think they were going to bed.

The boys had finally turned up at the end of the feast, just in time to eat something before they were dismissed, but they hadn’t been able to tell Hermione what had happened. They used that time in the common room to fill her in.

“I still can’t believe you both weren’t expelled,” Hermione said.

“Yeah, well you’re stuck with us for another year,” Ron retorted with his signature grin across his face. Hermione smiled; she was relieved because she’d honestly thought they’d ditched her and decided they didn’t want to be friends anymore. 

The rest of the second years joined them and they sat in a circle and waited for Lavender and Parvati to start.

“Okay, so Lav and I came up with three questions that we thought might be fun to answer. I suppose you don’t have to if you really don’t want to..” Parvati trailed off.

“What if we got a pass on one question?” suggested Dean.

“Oh! I like that idea,” agreed Lavender. 

“But we won’t know all the questions so if you use your pass, you can’t take it back after you’ve heard the next one or two, right?” asked Hermione.

“Correct,” said Parvati. “Everyone ready? The first question is: What’s something you’ve always wanted to try? For me, I’ve always wanted to knit using magic, but Mum won’t let me for a few more years. Doing things by hand is so slow in comparison.” 

“I’ve always wanted to talk to a centaur!” said Lavender as everyone looked at her oddly. “What? They’re always so in tune with the planets and stars, and I think it’d be so cool to hear their perspective.” Harry decided not to break it to her that they talked in riddles and made no sense, based on his experience in the forest last year.

“I’ve always wanted to see a professional quidditch match!” said Seamus. “We only get to listen on the radio. Me Mam’s not a quidditch fan, and she’s the only one who’d be able to take me in the family.”

“I can’t wait to be able to use magic at home,” said Dean. It stinks not being able to show my family all the cool stuff I can do.”

“Well, I’d like to try more of the classes they offer here. I wish they wouldn’t make us wait until third year,” complained Hermione.

“You can’t be serious? Of all the things in the world and you choose, ‘take more classes’?” Ron asked.

“Well, what’s yours then?” Hermione countered.

“Side-along apparition,” said Ron simply. We’ve only ever traveled by floo or portkey. Bill promised to take me to Diagon Alley using it once, but then his job sent him to Egypt so we weren’t able to go.”

“I’d like to try and brew a potion successfully without Snape breathing down my neck,” said Harry. Everyone laughed.

“Me too,” squeaked Neville. “Can I use that, too?” Several of the kids continued to laugh and shrugged in acceptance.

“Wonderful!” said Parvati. “Everyone still has their passes, and it’s time for question two: What are you most afraid of? I’ve personally never liked the idea of death, it scares me.”

“I’m deathly afraid of snakes,” said Lavender matter of factly.

“Professor Snape…” said Neville, as everyone chuckled and agreed at how awful he was.

“Needles,” said Dean. When he received some questioning looks he simply said, “Muggle medicine uses needles. I hated getting shots when I was younger, and one time they needed to take my blood. It was awful.” Hermione and Harry commiserated with him, while the others still looked baffled.

“I’m probably most afraid of failing a test,” Hermione said.

“Shocker,” Ron snorted as Harry laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes at them. Why had she been so worried when they hadn’t shown up on the train again? She forgot how immature they could be.

“I’m going to pass,” said Harry.

“Me too,” said Ron. No one needed to know how he felt about spiders.

“Seamus?” Lavender asked.

“Banshees,” Seamus said as he shrugged.

“Oh, I hate them, too,” she said. “Last question! So everyone but Ron and Harry can pass if they want to. What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without? I don’t know what I’d do without my Witch Weekly subscription, for one.”

“I couldn’t live without football. That’s the one thing in the muggle world I’ll never give up,” said Dean.

“I’m gonna pass,” said Seamus, as people nodded.

“Er, me too,” said Neville.

“I know Padma is in a different house, but I really can’t imagine life without my twin,” Parvati said quietly. 

“I’d have to say my family, too,” said Ron. “Even though they’re a right pain in the arse sometimes.” Everyone chuckled at that. 

“Magic,” said Harry simply. Hermione and Ron both knew what he meant. Ron especially, after rescuing him from the Dursleys, but he’d written to Hermione that evening to let her know what he’d seen. 

Hermione was the last one to answer. She’d been oddly quiet. “I’ll pass,” she said finally. If she were being completely true to the question, she knew she didn’t want to live without her friends. But what she couldn’t live without? For some reason, Ron’s name was what flashed through her mind. She didn’t quite understand it herself, and no one else needed to know.


	3. Year 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features 2 Truths and a Lie! Enjoy :)

“Hey everyone!” Dean said as he sat down amongst the rest of the third years at the welcome feast. “Have a good holiday?” Everyone nodded and asked about him in return. “My mum made me go to sleepaway camp with my siblings, but it was a good time. We played a bunch of games by the campfire and one of them was called ‘Two Truths and a Lie.’ What do you say we all try it tonight?”

“Seems like we’re starting something of a tradition thanks to Percy,” Parvati laughed as Ron rolled his eyes. 

“Sounds interesting, mate. I’m in!” said Seamus as Parvati and Lavender nodded eagerly.

Neville shrugged and said, “Sure, I guess.”

“What about you lot?” Seamus looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione, who all nodded reluctantly.

“Brilliant! Same time, same place?” Dean asked. They all agreed and brought their attention back to the feast.

* * *

“Alright, so the game is pretty simple. You think up two truths and one lie and share it with the group. The group has to guess what the lie is.”

“That’s it?” asked Ron. “Seems pretty simple to me.”

“You’d think it was, but if you play it well enough, it’s hard to distinguish what’s true and what’s not unless you really know the person.”

“Well, then we shouldn’t be weighing in on the ones our best friends are saying. That wouldn’t be fair,” reasoned Hermione.

“True,” said Dean.

“What if our lie isn’t guessed? Do we have to reveal it?” asked Parvati.

“Yes, isn’t that the point of a ‘getting to know you’ game?” Dean asked.

“Well, yes, but we’ve already known each other for three years. It may be tricky to try and stump each other,” Lavender said.

“Just make your statements more outlandish then,” Dean said. “Anyways, go ahead and pick out your three things.” 

The group sat quietly as they thought about what they were going to say. After a few minutes had passed, Dean brought the group back together. “Anyone want to go first?” 

“I will,” Neville said. Everyone was surprised he volunteered. “I’ve lost four remembralls, I told my Gran to piss off this summer, and I went out on a date with a muggle girl in my neighborhood.”

They all stared at him in disbelief. “Aren’t you guys supposed to guess the lie…?” Neville asked awkwardly.

“Told you it could be hard to guess!” Dean said as he laughed. “How many of you think it was telling off his Gran?” Three hands went up. “Muggle date?” The other four hands went up. “Majority thinks it’s the muggle date.”

“Nope.” said Neville.

“What?! No way, Neville!” Seamus shouted.

“It was just for ice cream.” Neville blushed. “She kissed my cheek at the end of the night. The lie was telling my Gran off. I thought you’d all know I’d be dead if that ever happened.” They all laughed.

“Well played, well played. Excellent first round. “I’ll go next,” said Dean. “I went to a professional football match this summer, I used magic when I wasn’t supposed to, and I tried to run away from home.”

“Definitely run away from home is the lie,” said Ron as there was a smattering of nods and agreements.

“Incorrect! I actually did try to run away a couple years ago when my Mum wasn’t going to let me come to school,” Dean said. “I never went to a football match this summer. Don’t forget to pay close attention to what the person says,” he grinned. “O for 2 so far, mates.”

“I’ll go next,” volunteered Lavender. “I participated in a fashion show this summer, dyed my hair purple when I was seven, and have been to Italy.”

“Hmm, fashion show,” said Seamus.

“I don’t know, I think it’s Italy,” said Neville. It ended up being a 3-3 split since Parvati didn’t want to ruin it.

“Close enough,” said Lavender. “I haven’t been to Italy, yet, but we’re planning to take a trip next summer and I’m so, so, so excited!”

“My turn!” said Parvati. “I visited my grandparents in India this July, we got a cat that Padma and I named Boots, and Lavender came to visit.”

I don’t think Lavender visited,” Seamus said. “You too definitely would have made it a point to talk about it on the train.”

Parvati pouted at Seamus guessing almost immediately. “I should have thought about that more. Oh well. 2-2, is it?”

“Yeah,” said Dean.

“I’ll go,” said Ron. “I’ve pranked the twins, beaten a chessmaster, and worked with a dragon.”

“There is no way you were able to prank Fred and George,” Seamus said, as a bunch of heads nodded.

“Actually, with Ginny’s help, we did! Before we left for Egypt, we switched their Beater gear out for a set they’d outgrown, and Ginny made them think she’d shrunk their gear with magic accidentally. They fell for it so easily. Took it well, too, surprisingly. I’ve never worked with a dragon.”

“But what about..” Neville asked as Harry looked at him quizzically.

“Didn’t say I didn’t see or was close to one, just didn’t work with it. I contacted Charlie, but never helped to get it to him. The bloody thing bit me.”

“Wow, you even got me for that one,” said Harry. “My three are, I ran away, I gave my cousin a pig tail, and I’ve defeated Voldemort three times.” Everyone around him flinched as he said the name. There was a 2-3 split in favor of Harry running away because they all knew he’d spent the previous summer at Ron’s. They all forgot that with Ron’s family trip to Egypt, Harry didn’t have the chance this year.

“Hagrid gave Dudley the pig tail, not me,” Harry grinned. 

“Should have known,” Seamus said. “Let’s see, me Mam let me start a fire using magic this summer, I visited Dean, and we took a family trip to Dublin.”

“I want to say Dublin, but I’m leaning toward fire,” said Parvati. 

“I’m going with Dublin, too,” said Neville.

“I don’t know, I think fire,” said Harry as Ron agreed.

“Well, I’m voting Dean,” said Lavender.

“I don’t think we’re coming to a consensus on this one, but it looks like we’ve got three for fire. Might as well just tell ‘em Shea,” prompted Dean.

“It’s fire. Me Mam won’t even do magic in front of me Dad or siblings, let alone let me try it out,” Seamus rolled his eyes as everyone turned to Hermione, who was the last one to go.

“Erm, I went to France on holiday, have a crush on someone, and ate snails for the first time.” Hermione’s cheeks blushed, but she remained straight-faced aside from that.

It was unanimous that everyone thought Hermione was lying about the crush, so much so that Seamus and Dean were laughing about it, which upset Hermione. Even so, she was determined not to show how she felt. 

“Well? What is it, Hermione?” Parvati asked.

“Er, you're right, it was snails.” she said. “I’m really tired, I’ll see you all tomorrow.” 

Hermione got up quickly and left the circle, with a lot of confused faces behind. She wasn’t sure why she lied. She’d never been embarrassed before. On the contrary, she was actually feeling pretty brave about hinting at liking someone to try and gauge Ron’s reaction, but with all the boys there it had backfired. So, the easiest thing to do was to let them all think she’d actually tried escargot in France, which she most certainly had not done.

Meanwhile, it was Lavender who scolded the boys. “That wasn’t very nice, you know. What if she did have a crush?”

“Yeah, that was awfully brave to even say. I would have never done it, even if it wasn’t true,” Parvati said. “Let’s go Lavender.” The girls took off to go make sure their dorm mate was okay.

As the boys also headed up to their dorm for the night, Ron asked Harry, “You don’t think she lied about her lie, do you?” 

“Why would she do that?” Harry asked.

“Dunno...just the way everyone was joking about it. Plus, I remember Hermione saying she’d never in a million years eat, what was it...escargoat? Is that snail?” Ron thought out loud.

“Maybe. I’m sure she’s fine. She doesn’t normally let that stuff get to her,” Harry said, indicating he was done talking about it. 

But Ron wasn’t done thinking about it. Does she really have a crush on someone? And on who? Ron tried to tell himself he didn’t care if she did, but he was lying to himself. He did care, but he wasn’t quite sure why.


	4. Year 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's year 4 and the gang play "Would You Rather" until Seamus' question hits a little too close to home for one of the group members.

Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves in the common room trying to take a break after their first full week of classes. Hermione was busily scratching away at her parchment, trying to stay on top of her coursework, while Harry and Ron were staring at theirs, pretending to be working to appease her.

Ron could see Lavender and Parvati talking to Seamus and Dean who nodded and collected their things as they all started heading their way.

“Who wants to play a fun, new game?” Lavender asked in a singsong voice.  
“And here I thought we were getting out of a bonding activity this year,” Harry said sarcastically.

“Of course not! Hermione, do you think you can take a break and join us for a bit? Neville should be here in a mo’,” Parvati asked. 

The newcomers all sat around as Hermione begrudgingly put away her work. Neville came down the stairs and joined them as well.

“Okay, so I read about this one in a muggle magazine over the summer,” started Lavender. “It’s called ‘would you rather.” Basically we pick someone to ask a would you rather question to, and they have to answer.”

“Sounds easier than two truths and a lie,” Neville said.

“Okay, then, Neville, would you rather be thrown into Azkaban for a year or have a year taken off your life?” Parvati asked him.

Neville sat there and contemplated his decision. “A year off my life, I think. I’d rather avoid the dementors as much as possible.”

“Cool, now you choose someone to ask something to,” Parvati explained.

“Hmm.” Neville took his time thinking up a question. “Hermione, would you rather lose the ability to read or the ability to speak? Neville asked her.

“Well, that’s just ridiculous,” she started.

“Come on, Hermione, just answer the question,” Ron said. He leaned in and added, “Just play along and it’ll be easier on all of us.”

“Fine. I’d rather lose my ability to speak, assuming I could still write my thoughts down?” Hermione questioned.

“Sure,” agreed Neville.

“Ron, would you rather be deaf or blind?” Hermione turned the questioning to him.

“Deaf, no question,” Ron said as Hermione raised an eyebrow.

“You answered that awfully quick,” she reasoned.

Ron shrugged. “Seamus, would you rather give up quidditch or pyrotechnics.”

“Oi, mate that’s a hard one!” Seamus argued. The group waited expectantly. “My pyrotechnics, I guess,” he decided. “Lavender, would you rather be married to a ‘10’ with a horrible personality, or a ‘6’ with an amazing personality?” He used the air quotes around the numbers.

Lavender looked gobsmacked by his question. “How do you even know what a 6 and a 10 mean?” Ron and Neville looked to be the only ones hoping for an explanation while Harry and Dean laughed.

Seamus snorted, “We have a telly, and me Mam and sisters watch all that rubbish. Stop stalling and answer the question.” Everyone continued to laugh.

“Fine, I’d go with a 10.” Most of them gaped at her. “What? It’s not that vain..” Lavender tried to defend herself.

“Uh, it kind of is, Lav,” Dean said.

“Ugh, whatever. Dean, would you rather give up football or magic?” Lavender asked rather scathingly.

“Whoa, um, football, I guess.” He thought for a minute. “Harry, would you rather go back to age 5 knowing everything you know right now, or know everything about your future now?”

Harry didn’t even bat an eye when he said, “Know everything about my future, of course.” Everyone looked at him, expecting him to think about what he’d just said, but Harry paid them no mind. Knowing that he might die at the hands of Voldemort would still be better than having to go back and live with the Dursley’s for six years, knowing the Magical world existed.

Harry looked around the circle and decided on Neville. “Neville, if you had to switch around professors, would you rather have Snape or Trelawny as the Herbology professor?” Everyone laughed at the thought of both of those teachers teaching Neville’s favorite subject.

“Good one, Harry,” Neville said. “Though I think I’ll take my chances with Trelawney. Parvati, would you rather drop Astronomy or Divination if you were being forced to let one subject go?”

The pout on Parvati’s face clearly said she’d rather not choose, but reluctantly she chose Astronomy. “Dean, if soulmates do exist, would you rather meet yours tomorrow, or have to wait ten years with a bunch of failed relationships in between?”

“Ooh, tough one, but I think I’d go with meeting them tomorrow. Lavender, would you rather marry for fame or marry for stability,” Dean asked.

“Hmm, stability, I think. I like the way these questions are going!” Lavender said. “Let’s make it more interesting! Ron, would you rather date one of your siblings' former partners, or one of your Gryffindor classmates?”

Ron stared at her for a moment. “Classmate probably. It’d make holidays too weird if I went the other route,” he laughed at his own explanation as some of the group nodded in agreement. “Seamus, if you had the choice, would you rather date a younger Ravenclaw or older Slytherin?” 

Seamus curled his lip as he thought about the question. “Well, I suppose older is always better, even if it is a Slytherin,” as the rest of the group either gagged or giggled. 

Hermione had rolled her eyes at his answer. Honestly, she thought, clearly bored with the game and wanting to get back to her work organizing S.P.E.W. Unfortunately for her, Seamus totally caught the eye roll and directed the next question towards her. “Okay, Hermione, since you seem bored, would you rather date Harry or Ron?”

Everyone turned to Hermione, waiting for her answer. The question caught everyone off guard and Hermione simply stared at Seamus with wide eyes and mouth agape, trying to quickly come up with some explanation that didn’t outright give anything away. “That’s- well- that’s not exactly a fair question, is it?”

Seamus sniggered at her attempt to stall. “How is it not a fair question? The three of you are always together. You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it..in a completely hypothetical way of course!” Lavender and Parvati were looking at him incredulously.

Of course she’d thought about it, but no one else needed to know that! She had half a mind to ask him why he’d assumed she’d liked boys and not girls anyways, but didn’t really need to open that up for discussion because she most certainly did prefer men. 

“Are you gonna answer the question?” Seamus pressed again.

“Well, I still don’t think it’s exactly fair. Harry’s more like a brother to me. It’d be quite weird to even think about him in that context.” She looked over to him. “No offense, of course.”

Harry held his hands up and said, “None taken,” inaudibly agreeing with her on that front.

“So you choose Ron, then?” Parvati asked with interest. Ron was trying to look anywhere but around the circle as his ears became hot and showed bright red.

“I-” Hermione stopped, but then reminded herself that this game was all clearly hypothetical anyways and her answer didn’t matter, “Yes, I guess so.” Her face was beet red as she quickly gathered her things. “I’m going to bed, you all have fun with the rest of the game.”

As she walked up the staircase, everyone looked around awkwardly before Neville said, “I thought the game was supposed to be hypothetical?”

“Er, yeah, me too,” agreed Harry.

Lavender, who seemed completely nonplussed about what happened, broke up the gathering then. “Oh well, better luck next year I suppose!” She and Parvati got up and headed back over to their favorite corner of the common room.

Ron made to get up, and as he passed Harry, he said, “Can we forget that just happened?”

“What are you talking about?” Harry said with a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the final one, from Year 6. I am skipping Year 5 because of the rift between Seamus and Harry.


	5. Year 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This year we have: Truth or Dare! What crazy questions with the gang come up with?

Late August - the Burrow:

Harry and Ron were lounging in Ron’s room when an owl tapped on the window of Ron’s small attic bedroom. Ron gave Harry a questioning look, but opened the window and took the two pieces of rolled parchment from the owl’s feet. The owl stayed perched on his windowsill as Ron went to grab a couple of owl treats. Pig clucked as he watched the visitor take some of his own treats. Ron rolled his eyes and tossed an extra treat at Pig, who gobbled it up without a second thought. The visiting owl left as abruptly as it appeared, while Ron sat back on his bed with the parchment. 

One had his name, and the other said Harry’s. He handed Harry his parchment, as he unraveled his own. “What’s this? We’ve already gotten our school lists..” he wondered aloud.

“Dunno,” said Harry as Ron looked over the parchment. It surprisingly had very few words on it:

We didn’t gather as a group last year for our annual Gryffindor mate fun, so Parvati and I are scheduling this one ahead of time.

Truth or Dare  
Be there or be square

Monday the second, in the abandoned classroom on the fifth floor @ 7:00. See you soon!

Lavender <3

Ron looked up at Harry. “What in the bloody hell is truth or dare?”

“It’s a muggle party game. Depending on whether someone answers truth or dare, they either answer a truth or complete the dare..”

Ron shook his head, “Where do they come up with this shite?” 

Just then the door burst open and there stood a frazzled Hermione. “Oh, good. You received them, too. Can you believe she wants to continue these stupid games?” as she grabbed Ron’s letter to cross reference.

Harry sniggered as he said, “Still upset about fourth year? Are you going to play nicer this time?”

Hermione stared at him as she said, “I had a lot I was trying to get done! It was taking up too much time. Harry, did Lavender draw a heart after her name on yours?”

Before Harry could answer, Ron said “A lot you were trying to get done? You were the one who put the whole SPEW thing on yourself.” It seemed they all were beating around the question that dismantled the whole game last time when Hermione ran off to the dorms prematurely. 

“It’s S.P.E.W.! How many times do I have to correct you?” Hermione said haughtily as she turned her attention back to Harry. “Well, Harry?”

“What?” He looked down at his paper. “Uh, no.”

“Huh..” Hermione said as she handed Ron back his parchment. She turned around and left as quickly as she’d entered. Ron stared at the empty doorway where she’d just been standing. 

“What was that all about?” he asked Harry. Harry shrugged as he tossed his paper in the bin and went back to the homework he’d previously been avoiding on his camp bed.

September 2nd - Hogwarts

“I still don’t see why we need to humor Lavender and Parvati by going along with these stupid games every year. It really is a shame they didn’t schedule a prefect meeting for tonight,” Hermione lamented as Ron rolled his eyes.

“Look on the bright side, only one more after this. I’m sure it won’t last long and you can get back to your precious studying before it’s too late,” he said.

“Hey guys, wait up!” The trio saw Neville bounding towards them. When he joined them he mentioned, “Good thinking on Lavender’s part to set this up ahead of time, yeah?”

“Er, you actually like these, Neville?” Harry asked.

“Well, yeah! How often do we all actually spend time as a whole group? I kind of look forward to them every year,” he said sheepishly. “At least I could plan ahead this time. You know, come up with questions and stuff.”

“Ah, why didn’t we think of that?” Ron said to Harry. “What are you smirking at?” he said when he noticed Hermione’s triumphant look.

“Ginny helped me prepare a bunch of ideas for truth questions and dares to get Seamus back. He has no idea what’s coming.” She seemed quite pleased with herself.

“From fourth year?” asked Neville.

“I’m pretty sure Harry’s not cut up over your answer, Hermione. Come off it, nobody cares anymore.” Ron said to her.

She huffed in response as they entered the classroom on the fifth floor, as instructed on their letter.

Lavender, Parvati, Dean and Seamus were already there, and so was…”Ginny? What are you doing here? You’re only a fifth year,” Ron said confusedly.

“Yes, well, Dean asked Lavender, who said I could join.

“It’s fine, Ron! The more the merrier,” Lavender said with an overexaggerated giggle that was enough to make Hermione gag. Ron may not have been thrilled with Ginny there, but Hermione was happy to have back up.

“Alright, everyone! I’m assuming you all know the rules of the game?” Parvati was answered by nods before she continued. “Excellent! Hopefully you all had a chance to think of some questions ahead of time. The only rule is that you can’t ask the person back who chose you in the same round since there’s enough of us. You’ll have to wait for the next round. I thought Ginny could start us off?”

“Oh, um, alright. Er, Dean, truth or dare?” Ginny said.

“Why would she pick him, first? Seriously?” Hermione heard Ron mutter to Harry who pretended not to hear him. 

Ginny shot him a glare as Dean said “dare” confidently.

“Ooh, starting off fun already!” Lavender could barely contain her energy for reasons Hermione couldn’t understand.

“I dare you to pretend to be the person to your right for ten minutes,” Ginny said with a victorious smile on her face.” Everyone roared with laughter as Dean looked to Seamus on his right. Ginny leaned to Hermione who was on her right side and whispered, “This should be interesting,” as Hermione chuckled.

Dean took it all in good spirits as he began his imitation, asking Neville in a terrible Irish accent, “Ron, truth or dare?”

“Er, truth?” Ron said hesitantly.

“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to someone?” Dean asked. All eyes were on Ron as he thought about his answer. His ears turned instantly red.

“Guess it’d be a tie between accusing Harry of cheating fourth year and calling Hermione a nightmare first year.” That wasn’t too bad, considering they both knew he was sorry for both accounts. “Uh, Parvati, truth or dare?”

“Ohh, truth!” she said.

Ron thought for a minute, since he didn’t have any questions ready to go. Thanks to Hermione and my sister, he thought. “Uh, when’s the last time you lied?” he said with a little more question to his voice. Judging by the nods from the guys around the room, he guessed that was a good one.

“Oh...um...well, Padma asked me to meet her in the library tonight, but I lied about what I was doing. She doesn’t know that we do this every year. She told the other Ravenclaws when we continued it in second year and they all took the mickey out on me about it..please don’t tell her!” She looked worriedly at Lavender, who patted her arm in reassurance. 

“That’s really the best you’ve got?” Seamus said jokingly.

Parvati asked, “Hermione! Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” she said matter of factly. She and Ginny had discussed Hermione’s plan, and agreed that alternating would be the best option to avoid any questions that could potentially be too personal.

“Have you ever lied to your best friend?” Parvati asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione thought about her answer for a moment. She never explicitly intended to lie to Ron, but sometimes there were things they didn’t know the truth about. You know, like having a crush on your best friend, we avoid talking about that at all costs, she thought. But then, she remembered the whole time turner incident in third year, and that made her answer easier, and less guilty about the other things because she could use that as the example. 

“Yes,” she said simply. Lavender seemed to give a suspicious giggle, while Hermione noticed some raised eyebrows in her direction, including from Ron. Choosing to ignore and not engage in what she perceived to be judgmental stares, she said, “Seamus, truth or dare?”

“Dare.” Seamus said as Hermione looked towards Ginny out of the side of her eye. Ginny made a subtle movement with her fingers as Hermione nodded to herself. 

“I dare you to let someone tickle you and try not to laugh. You can choose the person if you want,” she said. Dean had told Ginny that Seamus was super ticklish, so Hermione thought that would be a good one to get him back.

Everyone laughed at the absurdity of Hermione’s dare, but Seamus gave her an annoyed look. “Fine. Lavender, would you do the honors?” Lavender obliged, though the look on her face didn’t seem as eager as everyone was expecting. She started at his stomach as Seamus held his breath in hopes to avoid laughter, but couldn’t contain it as she moved up towards his armpits, which were a naturally ticklish point for the average person. 

Everyone laughed with him as he lost it, and Lavender said “I think that could have been a new record!” as she went back to her spot.

“Oh, shut it,” Seamus said. “Lav, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” she said.

“Try to lick your elbow,” Seamus said as Lavender glared at him. She reluctantly attempted, trying to make the process not look as embarrassing as she felt. She was quite a few inches short when all was said and done.

She moved on quickly. “Neville, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” he said.

“Have you ever caught someone doing something they shouldn’t?” Lavender asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Neville said without hesitation. “Harry, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“Hmm. I dare you to switch clothes with one of the girls for the next three rounds.” All the boys burst into laughter while all the girls looked equally intrigued and mortified. 

“Neville, mate, what have I done to you to deserve this?” Harry said with a laugh.

Neville shrugged, “Sorry, Harry! It sounded funny in my head.”

“Oh, it’s funny alright. Bloody genius!” Ron said through fits of laughter.

“But what if it doesn’t fit?” Harry asked.

“I think that’s the point,” said Seamus. “So who are you gonna choose?”

Harry fell into a blank stare, trying to think who would be somewhat close enough in size so he wouldn’t look completely ridiculous.

“I’ll do it,” Ginny said as everyone’s heads turned to her in surprise. “What? It’ll be a laugh. The loo’s just down the hall.” Dean and Ron were completely bewildered by her volunteering, as Hermione was trying to stifle her own laughter. Meanwhile, Harry was looking between both Dean and Ron, unsure of what to do. He ultimately got up and followed her out the door.

While the rest of the group waited for them to return, Ron turned to Hermione. “Why would she willingly volunteer for that?”

“I don’t know, Ron, you know your sister. She’s always up for a laugh. Personally, I’m glad she volunteered. He probably would have picked me, and I did not want to have to do that.”

Ron contemplated her words. Seamus was trying to distract Dean, who didn’t look happy in the slightest.

“He might as well just accept it,” Hermione commented to Ron. “She won’t take well to it if he argues about it.”

“Too true,” Ron agreed as they came back in. Ginny’s clothes were ridiculously tight on Harry as his were overly baggy on her.

“I guess I’ll go for the truth question next time.” Harry muttered. “Ginny, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Why’d you volunteer?” Harry asked her.

“You looked desperate. It’ll be a fun story for Fred and George at Christmas,” Ginny said as everyone laughed and agreed. “Lavender, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Lavender said. Hermione noticed a slight eye roll from her, almost as if she didn’t want Ginny to be choosing her. Hermione was secretly happy Ginny chose her, because she was sure Lavender was up to something. Something that had to do with the heart she’d written on Ron’s letter.

“Have you ever lied to get out of a bad date?” Ginny asked her.

“Oh, yes! I made the mistake of going to Hogsmeade with Zacharias Smith. Ugh, he’s awful.”

“What was the lie?” asked Seamus interestedly.

Lavender didn’t have to answer the question, but in an effort to make Seamus feel uncomfortable after the dare he asked her, she answered willingly, “Female problems,” with a smirk. “Seamus, truth or dare?”

“I’m going with a truth this time,” he said.  
“Of the people in this room, who would you go out with?” Lavender asked.

Seamus, being the smart ass that he was, said, “Neville, on the sole account that his dare was the best one here tonight.” Everyone roared with laughter as Lavender’s question clearly backfired. When the laughter settled, Seamus said, “In all seriousness though? Can’t say I’m interested in any of you like that. Sorry.” 

Seamus took his time looking around the room. “Hermione, truth or dare?” She should have known that was coming. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t anticipated it.

To avoid having to answer another embarrassing question again, she bravely chose “dare”.

Seamus sat in silence for a moment. After a long moment, which Hermione assumed was probably for dramatic effect, he said, “I dare you to kiss one of the people next to you...on the mouth.”

Hermione froze as she noticed half the group drop their jaws in response to Seamus’ question. Lavender’s face became redder than her own as she was glaring at Seamus. Hermione’s heart was practically beating out of her chest. What an absolute arse, she thought to herself. That was not how she’d imagined kissing Ron for the first time. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, unmoving.

“Well…?” Seamus said, “Who’s it gonna be?” 

Hermione had a Weasley on either side of her. No one else had shied away from a dare yet, and she was determined to not be the first. The thoughts were whirring around in her head, but she couldn’t make sense of any of it. She felt Petrified again, except for the fact that her brain was still processing thoughts, so she knew she wasn’t. 

She heard Ginny lean in and whisper, “Er, Hermione? Are you alright?”Hermione was too absorbed in her own thoughts to even realize how red Ron’s ears had gotten, not that she’d have known that he was waiting for her to say or do anything as he kept his head down, but his eyes focused on her. 

It wasn’t until she heard Lavender’s voice that she snapped out of it. “Hermione, if you really don’t want to, you can forfeit and be out of the game,” she said a little too sweetly. 

Hermione wasn’t sure what came over her at that moment, but she looked straight at Lavender and said, “Sorry, I don’t know of many Gryffindors who would shy away from a dare, and I certainly don’t intend to be one, either.” And before she thought about it, which would for sure stop her from what she was about to do, she turned to Ron, grabbed him by his shirt and kissed him full on the mouth. It felt like the kiss lasted a lifetime, when in reality it was only a few seconds. She so fueled on adrenaline that she wasn’t even sure if he had kissed her back when she pulled away.

Everyone was staring in silence. Hermione refused to let herself look at Ron because she was too afraid for the answer she might find on his face. “Neville can have my turn,” Hermione said as she got up and walked out of the room without a second glance.

As the door shut behind her, Dean muttered to Seamus, “I think you took it too far, mate.”

Ginny was staring at the door, torn as to whether she should go after Hermione or not. Deciding that she should, she started to say, “I should go..” but as she made to get up, Neville continued the game by asking Ron truth or dare.

Ron, who still had a shell shocked look on his face said, “Truth,” without really thinking.

“Did you like it?” Neville asked with a shit-eating grin on his face.

Everyone waited with baited breath for Ron’s response. Ron looked at Neville, and said, “Yeah,” as his face broke out into the widest grin Harry and Ginny had ever seen.

Ginny didn’t wait a moment longer after that as she stood up and bolted for the door. Harry, realizing she was leaving, shouted after her, “Ginny! My clothes! You can’t-” but the door had already shut behind her.

“Dammit, Neville,” he uttered as he stood up and made his way out after her. “There better not be anyone in the corridors!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you want an epilogue with a follow up! I'm thinking about it :) Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading.


	6. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's what happens immediately after Hermione walks out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist. I had to continue this!

Aftermath

Hermione made her way swiftly back to the Common Room. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed by kissing someone in front of her classmates. No, it was because she kissed her best friend who she’d been harboring feelings for, and had been too afraid to tell. It was just a dare, though. You don’t have to tell him anything unless you want to. 

She’d taken the cowardly way out again, leaving the game before it was over, but she couldn’t bear to see his reaction. So she entered the common room and made her way halfway up the girls staircase before realizing that she’d left her books in the boy’s dorm because they were running late earlier.

********************  
“Ginny! Ginny, wait up, will you!” Harry was calling down the corridor. It was hard to move quickly in clothes so tight without worrying he was going to tear something.

She finally paused long enough to turn around, “You should have stayed back!” she hissed at him.

“What? Why?” Harry was confused.

“I can’t explain it now, I need to go find Hermione!” Ginny said as she turned around and continued on her way. 

“Okay, but can we at least change back first? No offense, but your clothes are kind of uncomfortable,” Harry said.

Ginny sent a smirk his way, “What? Don’t like women’s clothing?”

“Not on me, I don’t,” he muttered as she laughed.

They turned the corner to climb the last staircase to the common room, when they saw Professor McGonagall walking down the staircase towards them. “What on earth…?” she looked bewildered as she saw Harry and Ginny clearly wearing each other’s clothes.

Harry was trying to look anywhere but McGonagall, while Ginny embraced the scene. “Hi, Professor! Just an innocent dare for some Gryffindor fun!” They kept going before she could stop them and possibly take any points away for...indecency? Harry wasn’t really sure.

The Fat Lady gave them an amused look as they gave the password and entered the portrait hole, and much to Harry’s chagrin all eyes were on them when they entered the common room. It was still quite full considering it was barely eight o’clock.

“Uh, Harry,” Colin Creevey called, “I don’t think girl’s clothes really suit you, but Ginny could definitely pull off the boyish look!”

“Thanks, Colin,” Ginny waved him off, “I’d like to thank my six brothers who helped with this success.” Always the witty one, Harry thought, as she grabbed his hand and pulled him up the boy’s staircase.

Harry could hear Romilda Vane say, “..But I thought she already had a boyfriend!” in a clear tone of dismay.

**********************  
Hermione was in the boy’s 6th year dorm retrieving her bag from Ron’s bed where she’d left it. Her hands were still shaking, which caused her to drop the bag, the contents spilling everywhere. Hermione groaned and knelt down to retrieve everything. When she was putting the last book in the bag, she heard voices on the staircase.

In a moment’s panic, she jumped onto Ron’s bed with the bag and quickly shut the curtains around it so she wouldn’t be seen. She’d just finished in time as Harry and Ginny stormed into the room.

“What is all the rush for? Am I missing something?” Harry asked as they entered.

“Yes! Of course you are! Now, quick, we’ll get back into our own clothes and then I can go find Hermione.” Ginny lifted Harry’s shirt over her head and tossed it to him. He froze and stared at her, she was only wearing a bra and thin vest. They’d changed in the stalls of the bathroom and threw their clothes over the wall before.

“What are you staring at? I’m still wearing more than I would in the Quidditch locker room, which you might want to get used to since I’m planning on making the team this year,” she said.

That snapped Harry out of it. “Oh, you are, are you?” he said as he peeled her shirt off of himself and tossed it back in kind. “Sorry if it got stretched out a bit,” he said, putting his own shirt back on.

“It’s fine. Not like I’m a witch or anything to set it back to its original fit,” she said, taking off his trousers. It took a bit longer to switch the bottoms back because Harry had to peel her jeans off himself. They were so tight that he couldn’t remember how he even got them on in the first place.

Once they were decent and in their own clothes again, Harry said, “Now, what is going on?”

“Alright, alright! Remember when Hermione was fixated on the heart that Lavender put on Ron’s letter this summer?” Harry nodded. “Well, Lavender and Parvati had been planning this whole thing out, and they recruited Seamus and Dean to ask certain questions that would result in Lavender kissing Ron in the game because she fancies him.”

“She does?” Harry asked.

“Have you not noticed all her annoying giggling and girlishness when she’s around him? It’s revolting,” So, anyways, when I was on the train with Seamus and Dean, they were telling me about it. That’s why I asked to join the game. Once Lavender said yes, I worked with Seamus behind her back and convinced him to ask Hermione the question he was supposed to ask for Lavender.”

“So you’re the reason Hermione kissed Ron?” Harry was trying to make sense of it all.

“Try and keep up, will you? It wasn’t all me. Seamus didn’t like that Lavender was rigging the game, and he vividly remembered Hermione storming out in fourth year, so it was fairly simple to get him on board,” Ginny explained some more.

“Have you told Hermione yet?” Harry asked.

“No! I didn’t get a chance to before the game! That’s why I was trying to get to her.”

“But why’d you want me to stay?”

“Because I don’t know if Lavender was going to retaliate, and if Ron’s still down there, she may still find a way to kiss him, too!”

“Yeah, but he wouldn’t pick her over Hermione….”

“One would hope so,” Ginny said, rolling her eyes. 

“..but he said he liked it when Neville asked.” Harry was going through all of the evidence against that happening.

“Yes, I know, but you don’t know how manipulative girls can be when they want something!” Ginny protested. “Now, let’s go down and you check the common room, and I’ll check her dorm.”

They bumped into Ron who was entering the dorm. Neither heard him approach. “Hey, have you guys seen Hermione?” Ginny and Harry both stopped dead in their tracks.

“Is the game over?” Harry asked.

“Dunno, but it was getting weird. Lavender was having a major meltdown, so Neville and I bowed out.” Ron looked over towards his bed and noticed his curtains were drawn. He hadn’t left them like that.

“Oh, er no we haven’t. I was just going to check the girls dorm,” Ginny explained.

“You didn’t do that first?” Ron asked her.

“No. Someone wanted to change clothes back first,” Ginny rolled her eyes. “Come on, Harry let’s go.” Ginny once again pulled him along as Ron walked over towards his bed, verbalizing what he’d thought moments before. 

“Huh. I don’t remember these being closed when I left earlier.” Ron flicked his wand and the curtains were immediately pulled back.

“Shite,” said Hermione, covering her mouth at the uncharacteristically offensive word.

Ron laughed and sat down next to her. It was an awkward silence before Ron finally broke it. “So….you kissed me.”

Hermione made a small nodding motion with her head. A small smile played at her lips. “And you liked it?”

“You heard about Neville’s truth after you left then?” Ron cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Harry and Ginny weren’t as observant as you, so yes, I heard their whole conversation, including how Lavender tried to rig the game so she could kiss you.”

Ron stared at her. “Oh. Well, I’m glad that didn’t happen.”

“You are?” Hermione asked, trying not to get her hopes up.

“Well, yeah, the way it played out was way better,” he flashed his lopsided grin at her.

Hermione was feeling braver now, “So, does that mean you’d like it if I kissed you again?”

“That depends,” Ron said slowly.

“Oh?” Hermione’s breath hitched in her throat as he moved closer.

“Only if I didn’t do it first,” he said as he closed the gap between them. His lips met hers as she finally let herself feel him kissing her this time, and she was kissing him back. 

When they pulled apart, neither could suppress the shy happiness on their faces. “So, does that mean we’re-” Hermione started to say.

Ron cut her off with a “Yes.”

Hermione leaned in again to kiss him because she could do that now. It wasn’t just in her dreams!

“As much as I like this, we should probably head downstairs before Ginny loses her mind,” Ron told her.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Hermione said as Ron stood up. He held his hand out which she gladly took, and they made their way back to the common room.


End file.
